Getting Girls Back in School: The Returns to Alternative Education in Tanzania

Study Context

Only 4 percent of Tanzanian adolescents complete their secondary education, and less than a third of Tanzanian girls who enter lower secondary schools graduate. While there are potentially large individual and societal benefits to directing girls back into higher education, low investments in human capital may prohibit girls who drop out of school from reintegrating. BRAC’s Education, Empowerment and Life-skills for Adolescent Girls and Young Children (EELAY) program is a two year alternative education program designed to target dropout girls and help them complete the secondary school exit exam. The research team will evaluate the effectiveness of offering the EELAY program in reaching this goal of redirecting girls back into education.

Study Design

Studying 25 EELAY center sites in Tanzania, the research team aims to evaluate the impact of the program on 1) engagement with mainstream education, 2) cognitive skills, 3) labor market and welfare, 4) psycho-social well-being and 5) risky behaviors and outcomes that are targeted by BRAC in adolescent programs.

Results and Policy Lessons

Results forthcoming.